Snow-excavator for railways or the like.



' N9. 721,6973 PATENTBD MAR-3,1903. 1

' 0'. B. H. HANNEBORG.

snow EXOAVATOR FOR RAILWAYS 0R 113 LIKE.

APPLICATION BILED JULY 8, 1902. no MODEL.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ODILON BALTZAR HANNIBAL HANNEBORG, OF OHRISTIANIA, NORWAY.

SNOW-EXCAVATOR FOR RAILWAYS OR THE LIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 721,697, dated March 3, 1903.

Application filed July 8, 1902. Serial No. 114,836. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ODILON BALTZAR HAN- NIBAL HANNEBORG, ostate-owner, a subject of the King of Sweden and Norway, residing at Uranienborgvoien 2, Christiania, Norway, have invented a certain new and useful Machine for Clearing Snow from Railway-Tracks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for clearing snow from railway-tracks, particularly after heavyfalls. Horotofore devices for this purpose have. usually consisted of rigid or rotary snow-plows. The former can obviously only be employed in cases where the snow mass to be removed is relatively small, while the latter cannot be employed in many cases for example, in narrow deep cuttings. After a heavy fall of snow rigid plows cannot be employed in such cuttings, as they cannot compress the snow sufficiently to force the same onto the sides of the track, and rotary plows would only project the snow against the sides of the cutting, from which it would again fall back upon the track.

Now this invention has for its object a machine for clearing snow both from open tracks and also from deep and narrow cuttings, which, as is well known, sometimes become completely filled after a snow-storm and from which frequently the only way of clearing the snow is by shoveling itup by hand labor. This causes great loss of time and has also frequently occasioned a suspension of traffic owing to the time required for the clearance.

According to the invention the novel machine is provided with a broad screw which when rotating cuts into the snow with its sharp edge and raises it to a predetermined height, when it is removed by means of a suitable convoyer'oither to both sides of the track, or, in the case of cuttings, to a truck pro vided at the roar, which said truck after it has been filled with snow is run back and emptied. This is advantageously effected by means of tip-wagons in order that the emptying shall be quicklyand conveniently efiected.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a machine constructed according to the invention. Fig. 2

is a plan view of the same with parts removed.

The machine is provided at the front with a plow 1, in the bottom of which there is mounted an upright shaft 2, which carries a screw 3. This has a comparatively large diameter and is formed with a sharp edge in order that when it rotates it can easily cut through the snow, the said screw being also completely inclosed at its rear half by 2. casing or plate 4. The shaft 2 is rotated by the bevel-gear 5 6, Fig. 1,'and the shaft 7 of a motor 8 of any suitable kind and which may be driven either by steam from the loc0motivo or by electricity, for example. To the shaft 2 there is keyed a toothed wheel 9, which engages a pinion 10 upon an upright shaft 11, Figs. 3 and 4. Two conveyors 14 are mounted in two frames 23, which are carried by the shaft 11 and can be swung, together with the conveyors, around the said shaft. Each of theconvoyers 14, Figs. 3 and 4, consists of an endless band provided with plates 15, the said bands running over rollers mounted in the aforesaid frames 23. Each inner roller is driven from the shaft 2 through the medium of the toothed gearing 9 10, which rotates the shaft 11. .This shaft 11 has mounted upon its lower end two bevelwheels 12 and 24, Fig. 4, of different diameters. The gear-wheel 12 engages the bevelwheel 13 upon the spindle 25 of the inner roller of one of the conveyors, while the lower smaller gear-wheel 24 is in engagement with a similar bevel-wheel 26 upon the spindle 27 of the inner roller of the other conveyor. (See Fig.2.) In this manner both the endless bands are somoved that the lower half of the bands are the operative parts. In order that the snow which is seized by the plates 15 shall be conveyed away, an endless band is inclosed at its under part by a plate 28, Figs. 1, 3, and 4, which prevents the snow from falling. The spindles 29 and 30, Fig. 2, of the outer rollers of the conveyers are extended to one side, each extension being provided at the outer end with a toothed wheel, (marked 31 and 32, respectively.)

When the conveyers 14 are swung toward one another, the toothed wheels 31 and 32 gear with two toothed wheels 33 and 34 on the two ends of a shaft 35, Fig. 1. The shaft 35 has mounted upon it one of the rollers for a third con veyer 16, which is inclosed laterally by a casing 17 and the outer roller 18 of which is mounted in bearings 19 beyond the rear end of the machine.

In Fig. 1 the conveyers 14 are shown contiguous to one another. In Fig. 2 one of them is turned aside and the other is in its midposition, this arrangement being adopted when the track upon which the machine is operating is open on one side and has a sheer face on the other side.

Then the machine is pushed forward and the shaft 2 rotated, the snow is collected by the plow 1 at the bottom of the screw, the rotation of which in conjunction with the rigid rear plate 4 causes the collected snow to be raised along the helical surface 3 of the screw until it reaches a point at which it is collected by the conveyers 14, which in the case of open railway-tracks can discharge the snow laterally. In the case of cuttings, however, when the endless bands 14 are placed adjacent to one another, as shown in Fig. 1, the snow is conveyed through the passage formed by the plates 28 to the conveyer 16, which is driven by the toothed wheels 31 and 33 or 32 and 34, whereby the snow can be conveyed with facility to a wagon 20, adapted to be easily discharged. The endless conveyer 16 is thus only employed when one or both of the conveyers 14 is or are in the mid-position, as in other cases the toothed wheels 33 and 34 are both out of gear with the toothed wheels 31 and 32. The endless band 16 is provided with plates 36, (see Fig. 1,) which seize the snow. The snow is prevented from dropping laterally by the sides of the casing 17. The rails are cleaned partially by the cleaningplates 21, attached to the bottom of the plow 1, and partially by abrush 22, arranged at the rear of the plow.

The machine obviously does not move at the speed of an ordinary train, but is driven at the relatively slow speed of the usual snowlocomotive.

Having now described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination in a snow-plow, a screw for elevating the snow and a belt conveyor for taking the snow from the top of the screw, substantially as described.

2. In combination in a snow-plow, a screw for elevating the snow and a conveyer adjustable laterally of the plow to take the snow from the screw and deliver the same either laterally or rearwardly, substantially as described.

3. In combination, in a snow-plow, a screw and a pair of laterally-adjustable conveyers for taking the snow from the screw and a third conveyer in rear of the pair of conveyers to receive the snow therefrom, substantially as described.

4. In combination, in a snow-plow, an elevating-screw and a conveyer-belt pivotally held at its end adjacent to the screw to swing laterally, said belt being arranged to take the snow from the screw, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for clearing snow from rail- Way-tracks,the arrangement wherein the conveyers are driven from the screw-shaft and .are carried by an upright shaft so that they can be either swung apart or contiguous to one another in order that the snow can be removed to both sides of the track or rearwardly upon a stationary conveyer, which then conveys the snow to a wagon arranged at the rear of the machine, substantially as hereinbefore described.

6. In combination, ascrew a laterally-adjustable conveyer for taking the snow therefrom, a conveyer in rear of that first mentioned and a driving connection between the two conveyers to be thrown into and out of engagement by the movement of the adjustable conveyer, substantially as described.

7. In a machine for clearing snow from railway-tracks the arrangement wherein the stationary conveyer is driven by toothed gear from the shaft of the outer roller of one or both of the swinging conveyers, substantially as hereinbefore described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

ODILON BALTZAR HANNIBAL HANNEBORG.

Witnesses:

AXEL LAHN, RICHARD STOKKE. 

